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I don’t know what it is about men or what it is that they have against women but here we go again. The House of Representatives didn’t vote on reauthorizing the Violence Against Women Act, which was opposed by many key Republicans because it would have extended domestic violence protection to lesbians and transgender individuals, in addition to illegal immigrants and Native American women.

The bill that passed with 68 votes in the Senate would have extended protections to 30 million more women but I guess if you’re not very fond of women in the first place then excluding 30 million more is not much of a problem.

In addition to providing protection against domestic violence for the above mentioned groups, VAWA would have provided funding for programs that work with victims of sexual assault, stalking, date rape or violence and domestic violence. The original act provided over $1.6 billion toward the investigation and prosecution of violent crimes against women, and also established the Office on Violence Against Women within the Department of Justice.

But then a few days later just to add insult to injury Congressman Phil Gingrey of Georgia, who is also an OB-GYN, and currently serves as co-chair of the GOP Doctors Caucus, defended the offensive statement made last year by Congressman Todd Akin by saying that Akin was “partly right” when he claimed that women rarely become pregnant as the result of a “legitimate rape,” and then continued by supporting Akin’s belief that a woman who is being raped is unlikely to become pregnant because her body will “tense up” and prevent her from ovulating.

And he’s a doctor! And a Congressman! Shouldn’t these servant’s of the Hippocratic oath and the public know better than that?

What in the name of all that is holy is the matter with these men? I mean after all aren’t we the gender that was created in the name and image of all that is holy? Then why are we so stupid and always wanting to shoot things and always wanting to tell others what rights they can and cannot have? I’m ashamed to have to count myself as one of them. What don’t we get about women having rights and equalities and freedoms… or everyone else who wears the mask of humanity for that matter?

To hear some men tell it you’d think that women have had nothing to do with the survival and flourishing of the human race… unless guys like Akin and Gingery believe that the immaculate conception was proof of the first instance of “legitimate rape”? But I suppose if you believe in the idea of an immaculate conception of a man by a man for “man”kind, then you just might.

Is the female of every species on Earth responsible for giving birth to life and then nurturing it or am I a monkey’s uncle? And Is ejaculation really that much of a life giving experience for my fellow brother’s on Earth that we must undoubtedly see ourselves as the exclusive lords of all who walk the planet.

For God’s sake, Women of the Earth, unite! And please find a way to take over the day to day operations of this pale blue dot before it’s too late… before we men completely trash, overheat, and shoot the hell out of the place. It’s been a few thousand years and we’re still arguing over whether or not all people are equal, whether being better prepared to kill is the best way to stop killing, and where babies come from!

Yes! Yes! Yes! Three cheers for you. It is awesome to see a man with this perspective. Thank you. Many of the comments you discuss are simply cringe-worthy. It worries me that some people think in this way.

haha … it’s funny to see a man post some of the things you say here. i think there should be more women represented in politics, but i also think that power has some kind moral-eroding effect on a person. a predominantly female government would probably do just as bad at stewarding the country, women can be very very vicious, and maybe because of the lack of physical strength they learn to do it in much more underhanded ways.

i guess what i’m saying is that our broken humanity, for men and women, makes us do terrible things and mishandle and misteward a whole lot on this earth. and i also think politics is a corrupted shrewd arena.

i don’t envy any politician, and i’d never ever wish my child (if i had one) to go into politics for fear that they would lose all that is good about themselves. or at least in the process of trying not to lose their good, they would become heavily jaded and weary from daily loss of faith in humanity.

As a woman, who is quite fond of herself and her fellow women, I have to say that I’m opposed to the Violence Against Women Act. Why? Well, there’s this thing called the United States Constitution which says that all of us are equal under the law. That means that there are not supposed to be any special classes of people in American society. A man is equal to a woman and a white person is equal to a non-white person and a lesbian is equal to a heterosexual — you should get the point.

When we started creating special classes of Americans subject to special rules we eroded that constitutional principle. People like Martin Luther King Jr and Susan B. Anthony fought to make those groups equal. When we started creating special victims groups in some misguided attempt to make up for the sins of the past, we swung the erosion of the constitution in the other direction. It was an equally incorrect direction.

There are already laws on the books that make it illegal to beat up your spouse or rape someone. We don’t need special laws that make it a greater crime. We already have plenty of laws.

As a woman, I’m saying this. Please do not make me a special group. Don’t turn your back when a crime is committed against me, but treat it as if the gender had nothing to do with it, because that is what it means to be equal.

Thank you for writing this piece about women, we are a very strong half of the balance in life. We have had our divine rights taken away long, long ago and we all, men and women alike, must stand up to such further nonsense. Our representatives are off point on this and many other issues. One thing we can all do is to not vote for our representatives again when election time comes, that is our right. Thankfully, women can vote in the USA and we can make a difference. I applaud and honor your voice.

What really astounds me is that down stateside, Romney got a lot of votes. By the sexual make up of US society, about half of those votes probably came from women – either by their own free choice or perhaps they were instructed to do so.
What is wrong with these women? Do they really have that low of a self esteem? Surely all of them who voted Romney were not mentally ill.

And just what is legitimate rape? I still can’t figure out what is and is not. Does the raped have to give a written form to say it was properly done?

@Neon Fish – I don’t think there should be any set number of races or sexes or sexual orientation to govern over the masses. I think there should be the opportunity for everyone to be represented. For far too long, it has been a old, white boys club. It still is for the most part, even up here in Canada.

Thank you for stopping by my blog. It appears we are on the same page when it comes to women and violence. Maybe we aren’t as different from India as I thought we were. It is time for a rebellion or revolution or something -anything but the status quo.

Thanks for bringing my attention to yet more disturbing goings on in congress. I feel it is my duty, however, to point out that not all men are bad and that not all women are that great. I think if all women were that great, they would have changed things by now.

I’m just trying to wrap my head around the concept of how many different kinds of women there are where this issue is concerned. It seems there are your regular women (and they MIGHT deserve protection.) And then there are your men who WANT to be women. There are the women who don’t like to sleep with men. (I’m not sure why this sets them apart from the regular women.) And finally we have the Native American women. (Maybe if they pretend to be Irish, they stand a better chance of inclusion if this act were to pass.)

In all serious, it saddens me that we have to fight for government backing on this kind of protection.

I came to your blog to say thank you for stopping by mine … then I started reading this. It was an interesting piece. And the comments here are even more interesting still. I think I need to take a look around a bit more if you don’t mind.

I would like to say that what was nice to see what that people have been considerate and articulate in their responses … even when one of the comments was in contrast to the majority. It’s nice to see that people can discuss such things without resorting to name calling and anger.

As for my perspective … this is my first time at your blog and I hope my comment here will be okay. Also, in general, I shy from political talk and I hope to not look foolish.

The issue of ‘special rights’ seem to be brought up whenever legislation comes up that will ascertain a peoples right that has been ignored or trampled upon without punishment or deter. Granted, sometimes some acts of protection go to far and overstep common sense boundaries. But when they do, generally the results are not devastating.

On the other hand, when legislation offering protection to the victimized are ignored or politicized away, the resulting effects can be tragic. To the country. The community. The individual.

I also agree with things that Neon Fish and M.G. Piety were saying … not all men are bad, and not all women are good. Basically, if too much power is given to any one group of individuals, then the power to corrupt gets greater and greater.

With that said, I will say that there is one point you made in your piece that I’d take issue with. That’s when you said, “I’m ashamed to have to count myself as one of them.” Please do not feel that way. As said above, not all men are bad. In fact, if not for people of both gender, I suspect women’s rights issues would have a harder time of it.